Ever wonder about the origins of our state flag? I did and this is what I discovered.
New Hampshire declared its independence from Great Britain on Jan. 5, 1776. That same year the state constitution was being written and a state seal was being designed by the First Provincial Congress. Represented on the seal was a pine tree and an upright fish on either side of a bundle of five arrows. The arrows represented the (at the time) five counties, the pine tree and fish represented the principal trade of the colony.
On the seal was the inscription, “COLONY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE * VIS UNITA FORTIOR” (translation: “A united force (is) stronger.” The first record of the seal dates back to Sept. 1, 1775 on commissions issued to military officers by the Provincial Congress. July 5, 1776, was the last known use of this seal on an act of the General Assembly, however, it is still used (along with the modern seal), on the cover of copies of the State Constitution.
In 1784, the legislature changed the seal to show a ship on stocks. The sun rising in the background was a reflection of Portsmouth, which had become a busy shipbuilding center.
In 1931, Gov. John Winant formed a committee to design a new seal. Later, these new recommendations were approved by the General Court, a law was enacted and then codified the new official state seal design. On Jan. 1, 1932, the changes went into effect.
The new state seal used the warship USS Raleigh encircled by a laurel wreath and nine stars. (The Raleigh was built in 1776 in Portsmouth for the new American Navy.) The wreath represents fame, honor and victory, while the nine stars declares NH was the ninth state to join the Union. The water represents Portsmouth harbor and the tiny, yellow-colored bit of land is granite, representing NH’s rugged landscape and strong people. A new seal also had a new inscription: “SEAL . OF . THE . STATE . OF . NEW . HAMPSHIRE”
Many other state flags are based around its official state seal and New Hampshire is no different. By 1876, more states had their own state flag, often due to the urging of the Post Master General who wanted to display them or by groups such as the Daughters of the American Revolution. By 1925, a majority of all states had flags.
Currently, some states such as Massachusetts, Minnesota and Illinois have already filed (or plan to do so) bills looking into their state flag design. Other states have already undergone the process of redesigning their state flag such as Mississippi in 2020 and Utah just this past week. Georgia has a much more stream-lined flag since the early 2000’s.
Here in New Hampshire, the possibility of a new state flag design is being discussed. According to Rep. Tom Cormen, he and Rep. Jonah Wheeler are going to propose a bill to have a commission do research to see if there is a need for a new state flag. That would be the first step. Should that pass, we’ll see where this goes.